‘Media exaggeration’: Bangladesh Border Chief dismisses minority attack reports in first talks post Hasina govt fall

This was the first high-level meeting of the two forces after the regime change in Bangladesh in August last year.

“The attacks on minorities in the recent past have been an exaggeration by the media. Such attacks on minorities per say did not happen. To substantiate this, there was Durga Puja, one of the most peacefully organised events. For example, the law enforcement agencies of Bangladesh were precisely tasked by the government so that the Hindu community is able to celebrate the festival. And to be more elaborate on this , the jurisdiction of BGB is within eight kms of the international boundary and within this area there are several Puja mandals where personally the BGP personnel provided security. And to summarise that this (the attacks) did not happen…overall the law and order situation, it was not on minorities, it was maybe some bit of political problem was there but definitely it was not on the minorities itself,” Ashrafuzzaman said.

The BGB DG also said they raised objections and flagged a number of cases during the bi-annual talks DG-level with regard to the fencing being done by India along the 150 yards of the IB and has requested for a joint inspection before the work is done.

Earlier this month, Minister of State for External Affairs Kirti Vardhan Singh, in a written response to a query in the Lok Sabha, also said “during the last two months (November 26, 2024 till January 25, 2025), 76 cases of incidents of attacks against Hindus have been reported in Bangladesh.”

Asked about the infiltration issue after former Prime Minister of Bangladesh, Sheikh Hasina, resigned, BSF Director General Daljit Singh Chawdhary said, “After August 5, the forces from both the sides have operationally deployed to stop and curb any kind of infiltration across the border. All over, the infiltration has substantially gone down and this is done with the active help of the BGB. Throughout the crisis and throughout the period, the BGB put shoulder to shoulder with us and helped us maintaining peace and tranquillity on the border.”